


Why Can’t You Love Me

by Rocofort



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Heartbreak, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 02:49:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16823620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocofort/pseuds/Rocofort
Summary: Reyna didn’t get it. Why was she so unlovable? Every person she has ever felt love for never returns it. Even the goddess of love told her no one would ever love her. After these events Reyna ends up masking all her emotions, but can anyone break down the walls she put up?





	1. Chapter 1

Reyna could feel her heartrate increasing. Today was the day Jason would return to New Rome aboard the Argo II. She couldn’t wait to see him again, and she was actually smiling. Something that slightly unsettled everyone around her. The atmosphere was buzzing, many emotions going through each demigods head, some were excited to see their old praetor, and others were anxious to meet the greeks. The preparations where complete for their arrival, and all that was left was for them to come.

Reyna paced her office nervously, she kept reciting over and over in her head what she would say to Jason when he came. She planned on telling him her feelings, something she hadn’t had the chance to do 9 months ago, but hoped she wasn’t to late. Reyna heard a knock at her door and said,”Come in.”

Gwen, a good friend of hers came in and said,”The warship is in sight now, they should be landing soon.”

“Okay I’m coming out now.”

Reyna left her office and walked through the streets of New Rome towards the pavilion where they were to land. She saw families and children playing, and suddenly a pit dropped in her stomach. Something felt off, she knew better then to ignore her feelings, but she decided to give Jason the benefit of the doubt.

She saw the magnificent ship practically hovering above the dome covering New Rome. She could hear Terminus yelling from all the way down here.

She could make out some movement atop the decks and a ladder fell to the ground. Percy walked up next to Reyna and gave her a reassuring smile before turning his head up to the ship. She saw a few figures climb onto the ladder down. One of them she was certain was Jason. She sucked in a breath nervously. She looked at Percy who’s eyes where sparkling and he had the biggest grin on his face.

A girl with curly blonde hair got down first, and by the way she looked at Percy she guessed that was Annabeth. She felt a pang in her heart, but that was just a silly crush she had delevoped for Percy. In a lot of ways he reminded her of Jason, something she didn’t know was good or not. 

Next it was Jason who landed and instead of the purple shirt she remembered he always would wear, now he had an orange shirt. A girl with choppy brown hair and gorgeous brown skin stood right next to him. 

Reyna was filled with a dreaded feeling inside. She hoped to the gods she was wrong about Jason and this girl. Reyna approached Jason and the girl, but before she could say anything Jason talked first.

“Reyna, it’s so good to see you after all this time. This is my girlfriend Piper McLean.” 

Reyna didn’t know what to say. She opened her mouth but closed it when nothing came out. Piper reached out her hand so Reyna shook it. She studied her more closely, she was absolutely beautiful, in an effortless way. Piper’s eyes were the most intriguing thing about her, Reyna could get lost in those kaleidoscope eyes. Piper was everything Reyna was not. She was a fool for believing she had a chance with Jason. Reyna didn’t have the anything on Piper. She remembered what Venus had said to her a while back, and she felt her eyes tear up. She quickly pulled herself together. 

“It’s nice to meet you Piper, and we are glad to have you back Jason. Invite all your friends down to the dining pavilion, we will eat and catch up. We can discuss business tomorrow. With that she briskly walked away, blushing from embarrassment. A tear even escaped her eye. 

She walked through the streets trying to clear her head and keep her emotions at bay.

“Hey Reyna, come over here, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” Percy yelled.

Reyna looked up and saw Percy with Annabeth and another scrawny looking kid. She walked over and put an emotionless mask on her face. Reyna was good, as she had covered up her emotions for years.

“Hi, you must be Annabeth. Percy talked alot about you. It’s good to know that someone will be keeping him check again.”

“Hey” Percy groaned.

Annabeth laughed,”Come on, you shes right seaweed brain.”

“This is Leo, he is the engineer behind the Argo II.”

Reyne held her hand out to Leo, who wasn’t paying attention and was tinkering with something he pulled out of his belt.

Annabeth cleared her throat and not so subtly elbowed him in the side.

He yelped and glared at Annabeth, who gave him a hard stare. He apologized and realized that Reyna still had her hand out.

“Leo Valdez, resident bad boy, mechanic, and prankster, at your service, and who might you be fine lady.” He shook her hand. 

His wierd accent almost put a smirk on hr face. Almost.

“I am Reyna. Nice to meet you.”

“Don’t mind him, he always acts like this.” Annabeth said, still holding that scary glare.

“Come Annabeth, I would like to talk to you before dinner starts, if you don’t mind Percy.”

Percy looked unsure at first, but then agreed after Annabeth gave him a look. 

They walked side by side in silence, to let Annabeth take in architecture. 

“It’s absolutely beautiful here, the designing and planning that went into New Rome is stunning.” Annabeth fawned over the various archways and pillars. Reyna found it nice that a Greek had such an appreciation for such things.

“Let’s get some hot cocoa,” Reyna suggested.

They walked up to the vendor who happily gave them each a cup with a smile. 

“It’s amazing how people can stay here and have families, at Camp Half-Blood once you are old enough you have to leave to fend for yourself.”

“Are cultures and camps are very different, but I hope we can get along in the name of stopping Gaea.” 

“Me too” Annabeth agreed.

Reyna whistled sharp and loud, and she heard paws thunder accross the road towards her.

“This is Aurum and Argentum, my dogs, you don’t mind if they tag along?”

“I probably don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Not really, and one important thing to remember is they can tell when someone lies.”

Reyna decided to take Annabeth to the garden of Bacchus, it was one of her favorite spots in New Rome, and one of the only that didn’t remind her of Jason. They sat down on a bench, sipping their hot cocoa and admiring the scenery around them. Reyna’s dogs wandered around sniffing various trees and bushes. Eventually, Reyna broke the silence.

“Tell me, what are your intentions for coming here?”

“We know that the prophecy of seven requires demigods from both sides, and we are here in hopes to convince you to set aside our differences to fight our common enemy.” 

Aurum and Argentum continued playing happily while she talked. 

“I believe you, so what help do you ne-“

Suddenly there was a loud explosion, and screams could be heard from the valley bellow. Both girls rushed from their seats to get a look at what was happening. What Reyna saw made her blood run cold with anger. The ship that carried the Greeks here, that carried Jason here, was firing down upon the unarmed Romans. It was pure bloodshed.

“You tricked us” 

Her dogs were at her side in an instant growling at Annabeth and ready to pounce at their masters command. 

“No! This wasn’t supposed to happen, I swear! I don’t know what’s happening.”

Neither dog implied she was lying, so Reyna said,”Come on then, we need to stop this now.”

Together they ran down the hill to stop the massacre. 

When they arrived most of the Romans in the Legion were running to the barracks. She saw families running for cover. She was angry. Terminus zipping around, screaming bloody murder, and starting glowing. Some people made futile attempts to throw rocks, plates, and anything else they could get their hands on. She saw Percy frantically running and looking around. He spotted us and ran over, completely ignoring Reyna and grabbing Annabeth. He pulled her the ladder that Octavian was clinging to and shoved him off. They climbed up the ship as the mob was growing. Reyna couldn’t believe it. She saw a little boy, laying, bleeding in the street. Dodging arrows, spears and other debris, she sprinted over and applied pressure to his wound. She grabbed his hands and lent him some of her strength. Reyna was seething. It made her so angry that innocent people were hurt and dying, all because she was so happy to see Jason again, it clouded her judgment in trusting the Greeks. It was all her fault. The troops started lining up balistae and fired at the hull. They shot another volley before the ship gained more altitude and left. She carried the boy to the infirmary, and gave orders for the eagles to follow the ship.

That night, Reyna was getting ready for bed. She went to her bathroom and looked in the mirror. What was wrong with her? She was so gullible. So stupid. So unlovable. Percy left without a second thought. Without a goodbye. Jason brought terror upon his home, and of course he found someone ten times prettier then her. What was she thinking?

She layed in bed, but sleep eluded her. The longer she stayed up, the more time she had to think. She thought about what Venus said to her all those years ago. 

“You will not find love where you want it, no demigod can heal your broken heart.”

Those words echoed around her head as she cried herself to sleep.


	2. Unexpected

Reyna awoke the next morning exhausted. She only slept about two hours, and now she had the weight of the camp completely on her shoulders again. It still troubled her how easily Percy left, as if Percy’s Praetorship did not matter at all to him. 

As Reyna rose from her bed to get ready, she wondered what she should do next. Annabeth, had told the truth about her intentions, but why had they fired on the Romans. It didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Perhaps someone on the ship held a grudge that Annabeth didn’t know about. Whatever the case, Reyna new how angry the Romans were now. There would be no reasoning with them, and she knew that there would be pressure to declare war on the Greeks. Octavian had been waiting for an opportunity like this for a while. 

Reyna donned her armor and stepped out into the sunlight. She heard construction, they must be rebuilding parts of the walkways that had been destroyed. Already, things were more or else on track to be completely repaired. Reyna decided the first thing she should do is vists the infirmary, and see how many where injured and killed.

Walking in the streets of New Rome was usually something Reyna enjoyed, but there was a somber feeling in the air as she approached the infirmary. She entered and greeted Cass, their best healer, and a child of Apollo.

”Morning Cass, I need a list if everyone that was injured and killed yesterday. Also, I was wondering about a little boy that was brought in, no older then ten? I was hoping I could see him.”

”Sure, I already have the list made,” she went behind a desk and grabbed a piece of paper,”we got lucky, only two people died, but they were somehow resurrected, just like Gwen was. And that little boy you are talking about is recovering just fine, I’ll show you where he is.”

She guided Reyna through a hall and stopped at a door,”Here it is, if you need anything else, let me know Praetor.”

Reyna nodded, and Cass left. She entered the room to find the boy sleeping. He had bandages around his arms and torso, but he had a content look on his face as he slept. Reyna was filled with anger, anger at Percy, anger at herself, anger at Annabeth. Especially at herself. She felt betrayed and alone. Though she had the entire legion looking up to her. They only saw her as the scary, cold hearted Praetor, nothing more. Yet, Jason always saw past her facade. He could get Reyna talking, and he made an effort to understand her. Reyna was angry at herself for letting her walls down, everyone she cared for was gone, and all that was left was her self pity. Reyna wanted to be mad at Jason, but she just couldn’t be. 

It was nine o’clock and the boy still hadn’t awakened, so Reyna left. She had a Senate meeting, and she could not be late. Hopefully they could have a discussion and not a rage fueled arguement, but Reyna didn’t want to get her hopes up. Some people could get very passionate at the meetings. 

The meeting did not go well. Octavian was adamant that they declare war on the “puny, uncultured” Greeks. He had swept up most of the crowd in a war frenzy, and even though Reyna was Praetor, she still couldn’t undo a seemingly unanimous vote from the Senate. Still, Annabeth seemed very sincere, she didn’t know what to do. On one hand, Reyna could fly to the Argo II on Scipio to warn them of the war between camps, the only problem with that is she didn’t want to leave the camp in the hands of Octavian. She tried to Iris message them, as Percy showed her to, but it wouldn’t work for some reason. It tore Reyna, but, in the end she decided to leave camp. She knew it could very well go wrong in countless differnt ways, but Reyna had try. She needed to prove everyone wrong, that she was worth something.

Reyna decided to go with a small group of soldiers to retaliate against the Greeks, when in reality she wanted to get close enough to warn them. The eagles returned and they had their location. Octavian insisted he come along, so her, 8 other legionnaires and Octavion mounted their Pegusi and were off. Riding Scipio was usually one of Reyna’s favorite things to do period, but not today. Usually she got get lost in the scenery around her, and wind rushing through her hair. Though today, it gave her way to much time to think. When she learned where the Argo II was docked Reyna almost laughed out of the pure irony. They where in the same place Aphrodite had a ‘chat’ with her. And now, her words held truth and she was going to face hem head on.

After flying a few hours they stopped to rest. Scipio was tired and he laid down to rest. The other legionnaires built their standard temporary encampment with a fire and in the center. Reyna volunteered for first watch, and of course, the most annoying person conceived upon the Earth had to volunteer as well. Octavion smirked as he took out his sacrificial knife and twirled it around. The shadows cast upon his face by the crackling fire made him look more sinister then usual. 

“I don’t know what it is, but your hiding something, aren’t you Reyna? When I find out what it is your hiding, your gonna be far out of New Rome, and I will lead it to glory. Most of the people already follow me, and it’s only a matter of time.”

“It won’t be that easy Octavian, there has to be a vote, this won’t happen in a day.” 

“Yes but, in these times of war,” he stopped twirling his knife and gripped it tightly,”sometimes there isn’t enough time for diplomacy.”

She shivered at the thought of Octavian in charge. That wouldn’t end well for anyone. 

After that conversation Reyna decided to patrol the perimeter. She still had an hour before her shift was over, so she might as well kill some time, while avoiding Octavian. They had camped in a fairly dense forest, and the darkness made it difficult to see. She pulled out her javelin, just in case. Light footsteps could be heard nearby, and it sounded almost like horse hooves. As they got closer a tall figure formed. She pushed forward and saw a centaur. It was probably about eigt feet tall, and it had a club in one hand, with a bow and quiver on its back. She realized, it mist be a party pony. Which didnt make much sense because they were usually partying and in groups. Yet this one was alone. It wasn’t posing as a threat so Reyna decided to leave it be. She slowly backed away, keeping her eyes on it when it turned around. They made eye contact and everything seemed normal, except the eyes. The eyes where very familiar, seeming to change color, yet stay the same.

Then the image changed, and instead of a centaur now there was a tall lady in a gown. Reyna instantly recognized it as Aphrodite. Why the goddess of beauty was standing in a forest in the middle of the night disguised as a party pony was beyond her. The gods were strange indeed.

“Come here, child of Bellona.”

Her voice drew her in, Aphrodite had that effect on people. Reyna walked forward slowly, and put her javelin on her back. She was rather not in the mood to talk to this goddess in particular. 

“I understand you are goin after the seven, there are a few things you should know before you go.”

“With all due respect, aren’t all the gods feeling schizophrenia right now?” 

“Ah, dear Reyna, love is love. I do not change at all between my greek and roman form. Love is a constant, the same as war. Anyway, I know that you are disappointed that Jason doesn’t love you. You deserve more then you give yourself credit for. Now, this story would become boring very fast without a love interest for you, wouldn’t it? You see, you have been looking in the wrong places the whole time. I meant what I said last time we talked. No one that you want will love you.” 

Ouch, that hurt. She was basically saying what Reyna already knew.

“But, love always finds away. You will receive it from someone you least expect. Now, as much as I would love to share some tea and talk more, the life of a god is a busy one, until next time.”

With that, she shimmered and was gone. She really hated when she talked to her. It never made sense, and gave her a feeling of hope she knew wasn't real.

She returned to the camp and woke up someone to take her shift, and as soon as she laid down she fell asleep. 

Reyna awoke in a pleasant mood which never happened. For this first night in an extremely long time, Reyna didn’t have a single dream, which was strange for a demigod, especially her. They too kdown camp and mounted their horses, they didn’t have much time left, and so they had no breaks until they got there. Today felt different. She almost forgot about her conversation with Aphrodite. Sometimes Reyna couldn’t tell if the goddess of love was meddling for her own entertainment. Right now it certainly felt that way. The gods could be cruel like that sometimes. They flew for hours, and Scipio started acting up. They had been putting alot of strain on the Pegasi, but she must keep going. 

About an hour later, the Argo II was finally on the horizon. It was in the water, she saw movement on deck. The giant dragon head kept craning its head back and forth. They quickly got in a tight formation and dove downward. It seemed the Greeks were now aware of their presence and the started scrambling into postions. They landed and dismounted, but Reyna noticed Octavian staying back, watching from the safety. What a coward.

Frank and Hazel, two Romans who left with the greeks charged 2 legionnaires, while Percy drew some closer to the ocean, she saw Annabeth and decided to approach her. Annabeth caught her eye and when they were in talking distance, Annabeth started talking.

“Please Reyna, we never meant for this to happen, you have to believe me.”

“I did, and look where that got us. We invited you to our home, welcomed you, and this is how you repay us. I’m sorry Annabeth, but most of the people won’t listen, they made up their minds. It’s out of my hands.”

Reyna and Annabeth studied eachother for a moment, seeing who would make the first move, when she noticed behind Annabeth was the same centaur she saw yesterday. Just great. Guess who has graced us with thier presence again.

“Annabeth, I think we are supposed to go over to that centaur over their.”

Reyna noticed Piper and Hazel were already walking towards it. 

“Well, come in then.” 

Annabeth marched off towards the centsur. This will not be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so this where I’m starting to stray from the original. I hooe you like it. Leave kudos and comments. Support really helps. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
> 
> Have a good day  
> -Rocofort


	3. Not a chapter

So, I’m kind of stuck on this story, and I don’t really think anyone likes it to be honest. So, I started a new Percy Jackson fic. Basically, its a cross between Maximum Ride and Percy Jackson where Piper escapes the school and gets injured and is nursed back to health by Annabeth. If thats something you would like to read, let me know, if not, it will probably stay as a draft. I ship pipabeth sooo I thought why not. Anyway, if you want this story to continue, let me know that too.

Much love

-M

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this!
> 
> Reyna is honestly one of my favorite characters. She has such a hard life and sad story. For now, my updates will probably be inconsistent as hell, so sorry in advance.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated, and make sure to tell me suggestions or any criticism, don’t worry I can take it. 
> 
> Thanks  
> -M


End file.
